Vancouver Canucks vs Minnesota Wild Predictions, NHL Picks, Betting Tips 8/7/2020

Game: Vancouver Canucks vs Minnesota Wild

Date: Friday, August 7, 2020

Location: Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Canucks (-105) Wild (-115)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Jacob Markstrom and the Vancouver Canucks (36-27-6, 4th in the Pacific Division) head to Rogers Place on Friday where they'll meet the Minnesota Wild (35-27-7, 6th in the Central Division). The series is tied 1-1. The line on this matchup has the Canucks coming in at -105 and the Wild are at -115. The O/U opens at 5.5. The Canucks cover 49.2% of the time, having gone 32-33 SU. Minnesota is covering 49.3% of the time, going 33-34 straight up.

The Vancouver Canucks head into this game holding a record of 36 victories and 27 losses, ranking them 4th in the Pacific Division. So far this season, they have converted a total of 224 goals which has them sitting at 3rd in the conference and 10th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +10, ranking them 13th in the NHL. The Canucks currently have a total of 78 points, which has them sitting at 20th in the NHL and 9th in the conference. Regarding shots toward the net, they currently have a total of 2,153 which has them sitting at 10th in the Western Conference and 22nd in the NHL. As a group, Vancouver currently has a total of 1,292 hits which means they have an average of 18.7 per contest. They currently have a total of 915 blocks for the year. The man protecting the goal for Vancouver is Jacob Markstrom from Gavle, Sweden. He is 30 years old and has totaled 2,552 minutes protecting the net for the campaign. Markstrom is giving up an average of 2.75 goals per contest which puts him at 14th among Western Conference goalies and 29th in the NHL among goaltenders. Over the course of this year, he has given up 117 goals. He holds a save percentage of .918 which puts him at 10th among Western Conference goalies.

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The Canucks had a good night with a 4 - 3 victory over the Wild in Game 2. The Canucks had a impressive offensive outing in this victory. For the matchup, they scored on 4 of the 28 shots they looked to score on. Furthermore, they had 7 power play attempts and netted 1 goal out of those attempts. Vancouver had 14 penalty mins in this game. The Corsi for the Canucks was 29 and the Corsi against was 39 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 42.6%. Their Fenwick was 20 and the Fenwick against at even strength sat at 32, telling us they have a Fenwick percentage of 38.5%. They took 29 face-off wins and lost 13 of all total face-offs. Their offensive zone starts came in at 62.8% and they had a PDO of 110.4 in this one. Concerning opponent stats, the Minnesota Wild put up 35 shots. They had 16 penalty minutes and they tallied 6 power play chances.

The Wild will be the team across the ice and for the year they sit with 35 wins and 27 defeats. When talking about goal differential, they are ranked 9th in the conference and 18th in the NHL with +1. They currently have a total of 218 goals for the year which has them ranked at 6th in the West. Minnesota has a save % as a team of .897 which has them sitting 29th in the NHL, which tells us scoring chances could be plentiful if they attack the goal. They have a team shooting percentage of 10.5% ranking them 2nd in the Western Conference. In net for Minnesota is Alex Stalock who is having an average season by surrendering 2.67 goals per game and that places him 12th among West goalies and 24th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 2,177 mins he's played this year, he's given up 97 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .910, which ranks him 19th among West goalies and 35th among goaltenders in the NHL.

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In Game 2 Minnesota went home with a 57.4% Corsi rating. They got there by having a Corsi of 39 while they surrendered a Corsi of 29. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 61.5% with a Fenwick of 32 and the Canucks having a 20 Fenwick. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Minnesota had and you could say that they played like a middle of the road team. They had a PDO at even strength of 89.6 and they earned an oZS percentage of 37.2%. The Wild scored 3 goals of the 35 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 6 power play opportunities in this game but weren't able to score a goal. Concerning their opponent, the Canucks had 7 power play opportunities and were able to tally 1 goal. Minnesota gave up 28 shots on goal and the Canucks racked up 14 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Minnesota (-115)

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